Cushion support assembly



June 23, 1953 'AIJ. BELISLE CUSHION SUPPORT ASSEMBLY Filed Dec. 2, 1950 BY "gnaw/2.,

Patentedlune 23, 1953 N I T E D STATE S PAT EN T OFFICE CUSHION 's i izfiassrmcv 1 to The Berkline Corporation, Chico'peeFall's, Mass, a corporation of Tennessee 2 Claims. 1

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in an upholstery device and is directed more particularly to the provision of resilient support for seats and backs as used in articles of furniture for seating, reclining and related purposes.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a novel and improved construction'of the type in which the support :comprises a cushioning member from edge to edge of the seat or back of the chair and a plurality of resilient tension members connected together in a new and improved manner-between the relatively rigid corner posts of the chair'orba'ck for holding the cushioning member in a more or less floating positionrelative to the chair frame and there is the further provision of freely moving edges on each and all sides of 'the frame which will eliminate the now present objectionable inconveniences and which will operate with a maximum amount of ease and with a minimum degree of effort.

One of the primary purposes of my invention is to provide structural and operational improvements in devices of the class to which reference has been made, which improvements not only simplify the structure as such but also provide import-ant distinct advantages in strength, durability, and the like.

With the above primary objects in view, it is another object of my invention to provide a construction of the above described character in which the number of operating parts is greatly reduced and which is compact in accordance with the demands and desires of manufacturers and purchasers alike and which is not only distinctive in its appearance and practical in its value but also reliable in its operation and emcient in its use.

All of the above objects I accomplish by means of such structure and relative arrangements of parts thereof, as will fully appear by a perusal of the description below and by various specific features which will be hereinafter set forth.

To the above cited and other ends and with the foregoing and various other novel features and advantages and other objects of my invention as will become more readily apparent as the description proceeds, my invention consists in certain novel features of construction and in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more particularly pointed out in the claims hereunto annexed and more fully described and referred to in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevational View of'a chair embodying the construction'of my invention;

Fig. 2 is "a plan view along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged partial plan view of one or the resilient tensile members of the device of my invention;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view of the device shown in Fig. '3; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a'hanger member of the device of my invention.

In the following description and claims, various details will be identified byspecific names for convenience. These names, however, are intended to be as generic in the-application as the art will permit.

Referring now 'to the drawing more in detail and in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding arts in the several figures and referring more particularly to the preferred form of my invention selected for illustrative purposes, I have shown a pair of resilient members l0 and it] which are made of metal and which are criss-crossed substantially as shown in Fig. 1 in the case of a chair back and in Fig. 2 in the case of a chair seat. These members are elongated longitudinal and transverse members having unconnected central portions which cross each other at right angles as shown. These members are loosely placed one upon the other so as to cross and overlap each other.

The members II are provided with pairs of end eyes or connecting means i2 and pairs of intermediate eyes or connecting means I4, at opposite ends and at points intermediate the opposite ends thereof respectively, said eyes consisting of portions of the members 10 bent upon themselves in a, manner so as to provide eyes or loops such as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The end eyes I2 are provided at the opposite extremities of the member l0 and the intermediate eyes [4 are provided inwardly of and equidistant from the opposite extremities of the member it outside of the point of crossing of the members [0 and ID.

The members iii are made from a resilient wire material and the eyes [2 and I4 thereof being formed by loops therein provide a characteristic thereto which makes the same yieldingly extensible longitudinally thereof.

An article of furniture such as a chair C or similar supporting frame structure is provided which comprises the front legs 20, the rear legs 22, the cross leg members 24, the braces 26, the back supports 28 (which may if desired be integral with the rear legs 22) and the cross back members 30, all of the conventional and well known design and construction.

Hanger members 40 each comprising a metallic member having a pair of end loops 42 at opposite ends thereof and an intermediate loop 44 spaced centrally therebetween by means of connecting members 46 which are arranged at right angles to each other in a manner as shown in Fig. 5.

The intermediate loop 44 of each hanger member 40 is adapted to be engageable with a pin, screw eye or similar means 50 by which it is held fast to the legs 20 and 22 or to the back supports 28 and 28 of a chair or the like as the case may be. Thus it will be appreciated that the hangers are disposed in opposite and adjacent corners of the supporting frame structure upwardly of and above the plane of the cross members 24.

A plurality of tension springs 60 are provided. The outer ends of certain of the springs '60 are engageable with the end loops 42 of the hanger members 40 and with the end eyes 12 of the members In so as to provide the generally square outline such as is commonly found in chairs and the like.

Other members 60 have their outer ends connected to the hangers (either in the end loops 42 or in the intermediate loop 44) and their inner ends connected to the intermediate loops H of the members l and l 0 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 so as to complete the resilient body supporting structure.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics thereof. Hence, the present embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects merely as being illustrative and not as being restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all modifications and variations as fall within the meaning and purview and range of equivalency of the appended claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What it is desired to claim and secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A cushion support assembly comprising a. rigid support frame, an outer cushion support in the form of a square of interconnected outer tension springs having outer ends fixed to the corners of said frame and inner ends connected to each other forming a square within said frame, an inner cushion support in the form of a pair of resilient tensile members criss crossing each other at right angles centrally of said outer cushion support and having opposite free extremities engageable with corresponding sides of the square of outer tension springs at the point of junction of the connected inner ends of the outer tension springs.

2. The construction set forth in claim 1 with secondary tension springs having outer ends fixed to the corners of said frame and inner ends connected to intermediate points between the free extremities and the midpoints of the tensile members of said inner cushion support.

ADELARD J. BELISLE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,160,971 Lenz et al June 6, 1939 2,248,913 Heller July 8, 1941 

